qu'

See also: Appendix:Variations of "qu"

French

Etymology

From que.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k‿/

  • Audio (France (Lyon)):

    (file)

Conjunction

qu' (apocopate)

1. (before vowel sound) apocopic form of que (“that, which; only; etc.”)
2. (informal, before consonant sound) apocopic form of que (“that, which; only; etc.”)
   • 2002, Jean-François Pauzé, Marie-Annick Lépine, “Toune d'automne”, in Break Syndical:

     Anyway chuis content que tu r'viennes / t'arrives en même temps qu'l'automne / Tsé qu'ça m'a fait ben d'la peine / de t'voir partir ma mignonne

     Anyway, I'm glad you're back / you've come at the same time as autumn / Ya know [that] it hurt lots / to see you go, my darling

3. (Louisiana, before vowel or consonant sound) apocopic form of qui (“who, that, which”)
   • 2010, Valdman, et al., Dictionary of Louisiana French, page 13:

     Elle a adressé la lettre à son garçon qu’était dans l’armée.

     She addressed the letter to her son who was in the army.

Usage notes

• This form is used instead of que when the following word begins with a vowel sound.
• While qu’on is quite common, que l’on is often preferred in polite or formal writing. See usage notes at on.
• In Louisiana, the elision of qui before a vowel or consonant sound is a usual, though not obligatory, occurrence.

Pronoun

qu' (apocopate)

1. (before vowel sound) apocopic form of que (“what”)

Further reading

• “qu'”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012
• Dictionary of Louisiana French: As Spoken in Cajun, Creole, and American Indian Communities (2009; →ISBN; →ISBN)

Middle French

Conjunction

qu' (apocopate)

1. (before vowel sound) apocopic form of que

Usage notes

• The apostrophe may be omitted in older manuscripts

  quil ― that he